Young Love

Young Love
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

Ben's friend Anna. We didn't put them up to this, they posed spontaneously. Seriously.

Tatto

Tatto
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

Today Ben got his first tattoo. All we need is a little leather and a motorcycle to make him look official. He looks like such a tough guy, yes?

Preschool

Preschool with Kim
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

My friends and I are doing a co-op "preschool" with our five children. We meet once weekly and all the moms rotate teaching once per month. April is my month, we met last week for the first time. My sister-in-law, Kim, helped facilitate as she is a dance movement therapist. We did some movement with the kids. The best part was at the end when we blew bubbles and waved the ribbon-sticks we made as a craft. The kids were enchanting and enchanted by the music and bubbles.

Abigail's Easter Dress

Abigail Easter Dress (3)
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

Here is my sweetheart in her Easter dress 1week late :)

sweet kisses

Abigail 8 months Kisses (1)
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

My Acting Debut

Recently I did a favor for a friend and used my office to help her make a music video (with permission from my boss). My friend is a songwriter and has infertility. I have many friends who are struggling or have struggled in this way...it is utterly heartbreaking and so unfair. Sarah decided to write a song and make a music video about her struggle. She entered both into the International Infertility Film Festival (a blog), and she won first place! We attended the video debut party last night, in which I accepted my award in the category of "best role of a medical professional portraying a medical professional." (its humbling how poorly I act). The award was a "storky," a chocolate molded in the shape of a stork. Sarah is an amazing woman with tenacity, candor, wit, and courage. I'm impressed by how she is working through her pain and is not letting it destroy her. She is a remarkable woman of strength, whom I greatly respect. Please join me in watching "Somebody's Mom." (click on the blue text to be redirected to YouTube). Ben and Abigail are the voices giggling at the beginning of the video. Please also check out her website: www.sarahmotesashley.com and peruse her wonderful musical talent.

GREAT daddy

GREAT daddy
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

First Days at the Park

First Days at the Park March 08 (7)
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

We have had a couple warmish (40s) days to take advantage of the park. It is especially helpful for the challenging hour right before dinner and before Steven gets home. I cannot wait for SPRING! The kids went down the slide together and had a great time. Ben is really into climbing and is getting quite adept at it. We live within walking distance of a lot of great parks, a benefit of living in an urban area.

First Day of Spring

Spring around here hasn't been very springy, to say the least. Here are photos from last week, the first day of spring. Ironically, after four attempts to make a snowman all winter, the snow was finally wet enough to make it stick. The result was the "leaning snowman of Harvey." Enjoy.

Happy Easter

Today has been a tough day for me. I love Easter, getting dressed up, going to church, and eating well. Of course, I love the deeper meaning that Easter represents: Christ sacrificing His life for us, for our selfishness, our greed, our anger because He loves us so much. This is incomprehensible to me, and will probably take a lifetime for me to really grasp.
Today we (Steven and I) are sick with the stomach flu. Ben had it earlier in the week and we thought we made it...alas. It is inescapable, I guess. So far Abigail has been unscathed. I have been sick more times with the stomach flu in the last year than in my entire life. I hope I have met my quota, because I really don't think I can do this again. Today was a definite low-point in my mothering "career." I didn't want to take care of anyone...I just wanted to sleep and eat crackers and soup. As a result, I wasn't nearly as patient, kind, or loving to my family. I am humbled by the fact that Christ loves me exactly the same on a day like today than when I am on my best behavior. I guess that is what I needed to learn today.
Our fun Easter outfits and good food will have to wait.

New Link

Our good friends and neighbors, the Castlemans, just started a family blog and we added them as a link under our favorites. Check it out!
*Their daughter, Anna, and Ben are best friends. We secretly (and not so secretly) hope they end up together someday! We love you guys!

VIDEO: Baby of Mine at 8 Months

Abigail is now 8 months and is our delight! She's still tiny, growing consistently, weighing 14 1/2 pounds. She's ready to catch up with her brother and is only happy standing up or if we hold her hands and walk with her. She's learning to express her opinions quite vocally (see previous entry about eating). I think she has gotten used to being held and doesn't want to be put down AT ALL. I'm re-learning how to do most tasks with one hand :) We think she is teething and she's been a bit fussy, and therefore, isn't sleeping "through the night" anymore. Bummer. She is taking the bottle and loves to drink water. She is a sweetheart and loves to smile, especially at her big brother! Its so great to see her personality develop more and more each day. I love this song by Allison Krauss and thought this video captured a little bit of who she is a 8 months. Enjoy.

Ready for Spring

Ready for Spring
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

The weather here has been oh, so frightful. We're ready for it to become delightful. Lately, no matter how cold, we've been bundling up in the afternoon as a much-needed-clear-the-head-diversion. Spring, bring it on!!!!!
Its usually at this time of year that I hopefully search for the first sign of plant life...tiny green shoots poking up through all the deadness of winter. Nothing yet.

I love to eat!!!

Messy eater at 8 months
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

Abigail is a good eater. Lately she has become more feisty and independent about her eating habits. She screams and fusses unless with let her get her hands IN her food. Here is the result. Lets just say we need to hose her down after every meal!

Silliness all around

we are sure having fun with these glasses!

Our Fourth Anniversary

Saturday we had the opportunity to celebrate our wedding anniversary together, alone, for 8 full hours!!!! It was blissful!!!! My brother and sister-in-law graciously agreed to watch our children from 9a-5pm (a hefty task, to say the least) while we hit downtown Chicago. We rode the El and then the bus to the Four Seasons (a novelty and treat for me!) and started the day with a 55-minute couples massage....AH! After 3 hours of sleep, it was all we needed to soothe our tired minds and bodies. We spent a little while at the spa enjoying their amenities, then headed to a downtown mall for some lunch and mindless browsing. Why is browsing so wonderful, even if you don't spend any money? We walked down Michigan Avenue, stopped at Starbucks for some warm coffee and had absolutely no agenda. Steven racked up some points by going to Ann Taylor loft while I spent some of a gift certificate I had from Christmas. It was a lovely day and went by all too fast. We were happy to see the kids when we returned home, and they had a great day with Auntie Kim and Uncle Graham. In the evening, our date continued....we went to a dance performance of our neighbor and good friend Karen, a member of Momenta dance troupe. It was an inspiring and enjoyable show and wonderful to (finally) see Karen perform. She's amazing, truly gifted! The best part of the whole day was getting a chance to focus on each other. It is a great investment in us and we felt more connected than we have in a long time. I love you, honey, and cannot imagine being married to anyone else. Thanks for a great day...here's to many more anniversaries!!!!

A new nephew has LEAPED into our lives!

A warm and loving welcome to Joshua Edward, born to Steven's sister Martha last Friday. We;re so happy she evened out the stats in our family making it an even 3:3 boys and girls. We can't wait to meet you, little one!

Born: 11:03 PM on Friday, February 29^th, 2008
Weight: 8 lb, 14.3 oz / 4.03 kg
Height: 21.5 in / 54 cm

My little boy

This video thing is just too hard to resist. My son is at such a fun (and challenging) age. We have great talks when we can be alone together and I can give him a little undivided attention. Here we are having a great conversation while he rides his favorite speedy steed ("Black Beauty"). Enjoy.

Abigail 7 Months

I'm really getting into this video thing...I think its great for both of our parents who live far away to catch up on the children.

Abigail went for her 7 month check-up the other day and weighed in at a whopping 13#9oz, 26.5". She is doing well and is overall a pretty happy girl! She loves her brother and loves to laugh at him (and he loves to make her laugh!). She's sleeping pretty well in general until she got her shots last week, and seems to be really working on some teeth. She's rolling both ways, scootching, sitting alone unassisted. She's really into eating solid foods and loves avocado, tofu, peas, sweet potato, banana, and cereal. The best news of all is that she is taking a bottle. What an answer to prayer! It relieves a lot of stress for me and our caregiver. Happy 7 months little one, we love you!

DIY Haircut

We've grown weary of paying $15 or more for Steven and Ben to get their haircut every 6 weeks. Don't get me wrong, Frank, our local barber who smokes like a chimney and swears like a sailor is a great cultural experience for Ben...we just thought we could do better :) So, Steven purchased our very own hair clippers with accessories and do-it-yourself video. Yesterday I tackled Ben's hair. Given my past history of being a hair butcher, I think I did pretty well. It helped to have the Sound of Music, Ben's favorite movie, showing while I played stylist. Steven is still reluctant to let me try, but I'm workin' on him!